After more than five years of resisting a lawsuit requesting inspection of public records, KNME-TV has been ordered into mediation where it will face claims for civil fines and attorney fees that could reach $200,000 and higher.
KNME-TV is the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) affiliate at the University of New Mexico.
The suit arose from KNME-TV’s production [...]

KNME New Mexico PBS is a government agency.  It is part of the University of New Mexico, a state institution.  Its employees are public employees.  Its documents are state records covered under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act.
As we reported previously, KNME has racked up fines now approaching $200,000 for failing to fully [...]

KNME-TV describes itself as “a trusted source for in-depth news and information.”  Yet for over five years the station has been resisting a public records request for documents that might show whether the PBS affiliate sold its journalistic integrity for a mere $30,000.
Since June 2007, KNME has been withholding records relating to its “news documentary” [...]

For a non-profit organization dedicated to public service, KNME-TV pays its general manager more than its faithful supporters might imagine.  Polly Anderson, the general manager of New Mexico PBS, receives $165,000 a year, plus benefits. Her non-profit salary is right up there with what for-profit corporations pay managers at far larger television stations.  Though her [...]

New Mexico Watchdog wishes to thank Adrian Velarde, director of operations for KRWG-TV, New Mexico State’s PBS affiliate.  We had been having a difficult time getting a simple answer to questions about the salaries of staff at the television station.  In a previous blog post we scolded NMSU for lacking a Sunshine Portal.  We had [...]

UNM beats NMSU again. Hooray for UNM! A Bronx cheer for NMSU.
UNM’s win this time comes in being an institution that recognizes the duty it owes its funders–the taxpayers–to be open and transparent about how it spends their money. The University of New Mexico launched its Sunshine Portal in May. [...]

You want to know one of the significant reasons you have to pay federal income tax each year?
Thank Prohibition.
Before the nation lost its mind in 1919 and passed the 18th Amendment outlawing liquor, one-third of federal receipts came from the excise taxes on various liquors consumed in the United States. If you banned alcohol, how [...]